Direct Intervention
by How-not-to-do-something
Summary: Fifteen years ago the world was set upon an inevitable course. Now, NERV will discover it firsthand.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here it is. The beginning of the (hopefully) better version of Interference. Enjoy!**

"I hate paperwork" the Colonel mumbled. How he would love it if he could toss it aside, toss all of it aside, and go do something actually productive. Like overseeing his comrade's operation, far below in the lower levels of the base. Or changing into disguising work clothes and getting down and dirty with the work crews on the small fleet of vehicles. Or perhaps get on the next transport out, leaving this wretched place far behind him.

Or just shooting something at the range. That sounded most appealing.

With a sigh he stopped daydreaming and went back to the accursed work. The document in front of him explained in detail why the maintenance department absolutely needed newer and far more expensive 'supplies', which consisted mainly of a wet bar and a variety of alcohol. Their reasons included morale, off duty relaxation, and the promised invitation of all personnel that were similarity off duty, including himself. The one who wrote it even listed an estimated cost, which was quite reasonable.

The Colonel grabbed the stamp that said **Rejected** in bold red print and slammed it with unnecessary force on the paper. Once the stamp was replaced to its former location he grabbed the small red pen kept for side notes and wrote _The budget isn't bottomless. Do your jobs and stop complaining_ under the print. Now properly completed, or close to it, the Colonel smoothed out the crinkled paper and placed it in the **out** basket. He leaned back and sighed.

"Brought all the way here, spend weeks learning to walk without tripping, all for Elbrus's oh so secret project. And yet here I am, a glorified bureaucrat. I hate people" he complained to the ceiling. Absentmindedly he grabbed the small stress ball on his desk, one of few items he could bring with him, and tossed it into the air. Even a simple activity like this reminded him of his predicament; the foam ball took too much time falling down, and every light toss up it nearly touched the ceiling.

Colonel Doug Brenner (known to most only by his rank) was an odd individual. Standing at an even six feet, he looked to be in his thirties and ethnically European. His skin was unusually pale, a condition brought on by too much time indoors and not enough time under the sun. The standard uniform of those who worked under him was gray camouflaged fatigues; he wore a stark black uniform, complete with black leather gloves, a black beret, and a trench coat that went to his knees. Oddly enough, the hair on his scalp was a light gray. It was brought on by stress rather than age.

He knew that his normal outfit resembled an waffen-shutzstaffel officer, a fact he usually capitalized on for its intimidation qualities. He also knew his reputation, partially stemming from a number of summary executions he'd performed, also did wonders. The numbers were exaggerated of course, but they didn't know that. What he wasn't entirely aware off was how far it pervaded. Even mentioning his name was enough to hush any conversation, and his presence alone caused panic.

Knowledge that he was one of _Them_ also greatly contributed.

A light knock from the thin door broke the Colonel's reverie. He looked towards it as the ball landed for the last time.

"Come in" he commanded.

The Colonel knew who it was the moment he saw the hand reaching around the thin wood door. A black glove, not unlike his own. That was followed by a black coat sleeve, an unadorned shoulder that should've have had military stripes, and ended with the face of a young Japanese man. The man, looking too young to purchase alcohol in a first world country, let alone having an important post in a powerful paramilitary organization, looked around before his green eyes locked onto the Colonel's.

"Good. Was worried for a second that you scurried off somewhere" he said with false cheer, halting the Colonel's remark. The newcomer's expression was grim, a severe contrast to his normally stoic but good nature.

"Whats going on?" the Colonel demanded as he leaned forward. Few people knew him well. If they were present, they would have noted the subtle signs of panic in his tone.

"Something happened. Something big" the Japanese man spoke. One did not have to know him well to see his fear.

The Colonel needed no more incentive. He quickly came to his feet and rushed after the now exiting newcomer. Absently he dropped the ball, unaware that he would never see it again. With the Japanese man in the lead, they sped along to the nearest elevator. The entire way the Colonel spent tripping and almost falling from the low gravity, instead of his usual confident march. The Japanese man chuckled.

"Still not used to Titan?" he joked as they found an elevator, taking the place of some workers going off duty. They did not dare protest, seeing the feared Colonel and the one nicknamed The Hun scooting inside. Once inside (the Colonel tripped and fell against the back wall as they entered), the Japanese man swiped a small key card into a reader, making the panel beep twice. In seconds the doors closed and the elevator began descending.

Where the Colonel worked was the administrative sector, close to the methane saturated surface. Above was the section where the vehicle garages and landing pads were located. Down one section was the barracks, arranged like an apartment complex. It covered more than half of the total area of the base, and it was fairly comfortable. Dwellings tended to be spartan, though all the personnel had their own individual spaces, no official sharing or naval style hot bunking. Entertainment facilities were located there as well, including several restaurants, two pubs, and a film theater.

Underneath that section was a series of enormous caverns, carved out of a natural cave network. Inside the main one was the entire reason more than five thousand people and uncountable amounts of supplies had come to the perpetually cloudy moon of Saturn under the upmost secrecy. Their purpose, now nearly completed. Below that was maintenance: power generators, water treatment plants, storehouses, and the like. This was the section the Colonel managed, and he did it well. For the most part.

The pair was going lower than maintenance.

"Okay, you've got me worked up. What exactly is going on?" the Colonel asked at last. His voice held annoyance, but had a definite undertone of concern.

"I don't know much, but...something big happened on Earth" the Japanese man admitted.

"Nukes went flying?" the Colonel asked. The Japanese man shook his head.

"No. But if they don't soon I'll be surprised" he said. The Colonel guessed he knew more than he let on.

"Does this have anything to do with the Antarctica expedition a few years ago?" he ventured.

"I don't know!" the Japanese man snapped. After a brief pause he sighed and began talking again.

"I haven't been told anything else. Once we reach the meeting room, Pariah or Widow will hopefully explain. Those two were the last ones to be on Earth. Maybe the'll shed some light on-"

He never finished the sentence.

Neither man had any warning as bright pain flashed. Pain greater than anything he'd experienced in decades. It was every bullet, every knife, and the one near drowning incident he'd experienced. All of that at once, then it was multiplied by ten. The Colonel screamed, oblivious to his companion matching him. Titan's 14 percent of Earth's gravity softened his collapse to the floor as he blacked out.

The Colonel's raspy breathing was the first sign that he was still alive. Though it seemed like months, it took only a few minutes for his agonized nerves to calm down enough for conciousness to return. He stumbled to his feet with a pained groan. Once upright again, dull pain, half from hitting his head and half from the incident, struck his cranium with a vengeance, and he tasted coppery blood. It took three minutes for it to die down enough to check for injuries. Experimentally, he dabbed his fingers to his upper lip, to check for a nosebleed. Red blood glistened on the tips of the two gloved fingers that volunteered. Just as he expected.

"Crap" he mumbled. Remembering that he wasn't alone, he looked to his companion, who was beginning to regain the ability to stand without assistance. Barely.

"Tribal" he spoke, noting in a detached way how weak his voice sounded, "You alright?"

The Japanese man coughed, bringing up some blood in the process, then opened his eyes. He had a dazed look, almost like a concussion. Unsurprising, considering what he just went through.

"That hurt" he muttered. The Colonel couldn't help himself, he laughed.

Tribal's eyes focused and narrowed.

"What the hell is so funny" he demanded in a low and dangerous tone.

"You" the Colonel replied, letting out another guffaw. Tribal narrowed his eyes more.

"I looked the same way you do when it happened to me. Four friggin times now and it still hurts" he explained, a rare smile on his lips. The Japanese man lifted an eyebrow.

"What happened exactly?" He muttered, confused.

"A contract ended" the Colonel said. The smile, rare as a unicorn sighting, faded to regret.

"A contract ended?" Tribal repeated, his eyes widening in realization. The Colonel solemnly nodded.

A single chime and the whoosh of an opening door reminded the two of their location. Curiously they glanced towards it, noticing the tall black clad woman outside the door. Behind her was a dark hallway that seemed to go on indefinitely. Her face was the definition of statuesque, with hardly anything out of place. The Colonel noted a small smear on her upper lip and bloodshot eyes, ruining the forced perfection.

"You too?" Tribal asked.

"Of course. Servants, remember?" she replied with annoyance.

Like the two inside of the elevator, the woman was an odd one. Her face could easily be beautiful, if the scowl lines weren't so prominent. Her hair was brown, and the outfit resembled the Colonel's, including the trench coat and fatigues. It differed by lacking sleeves, showing brown skin from the shoulders to the wrists, while short fingerless gloves covered her palms. A handgun was held in a hip holster for all to see.

"What happened to Earth?" the Colonel asked, recalling the reason he was summoned. The pain was a memory, he would have forgotten it'd happened at all if it wasn't for the dull ache in his gut and the smeared blood on his hand. One of the fringe benefits.

"Everything will be explained when we've been assembled" the dark skinned woman stated, crisply ignoring his question. No sooner than she finished her sentence she was turning away. Tribal turned his head to the Colonel with magnified grimness as the woman walked down the dimly lit hallway.

"Alright Slavic, we better get moving" he said, following her. 'Doug Brenner' sighed.

"Can never just explain. Always cloak and daggers" Slavic muttered as he trudged after them. Neither reacted, even though he wasnt quiet about it.

By some trick, the dark and bare hall took several minutes to travel through. It did not bend, curve, raise, or fall. It was completely bare, covered in black tiles and bereft of doors. The only illumination came from the ceiling, a dim light that seemed to seep through evenly instead of an actual source. The particular tiles that covered everything should've made an obvious clack with every foot fall. Instead, only a muted series of muffled taps marked their presence at all.

At the end was a door, different only by being a lighter shade than the rest of the tiles. Once the three officers were standing in front of it, it reacted. A light whoosh sounded and the door split laterally. Both sides simply moved into the walls. It did not jut forward or back, it did not swing, it was like the wall was absorbing the door. The entire process took seconds. Beyond the door was not what an intruder (if they had survived this long) would expect.

A medium sized room was all that was there. It was covered in grey tiles on the walls and ceiling and dark blue carpet on the floor. Apart from a large circular table, able to allow ten people to have an unblocked view of the center, it was empty. The table itself had wood paneling on the top, cheap aluminum support and legs, and several stenciled numbers ranging from one to ten, arranged clockwise. The same number of seats matched the stencils. It would be unremarkable if not for the present location and atmosphere.

All but three of the chairs were occupied. Walking with casual boredom, Slavic circled the table to the spot marked by a bold number **7**. The chair itself was a thin padded seat, another clone of millions of others found in any office building. His two companions did the same. Internally Slavic was concerned. For one, it was the first time in decades all ten of _Them_ were in the same room at the same time. Secondly, and far more importantly, all but two of them looked just as worried as he was.

These ten came from all corners of the world and from all walks of life. Slavic was the only other one of European persuasion among them, the other looking like the ideal Nazi Aryan wearing sunglasses despite the dim light. Strangely enough, there were two Japanese, though one didn't look anything like the typical citizen. For the other, green eyes were unusual anywhere. With one exception, they all wore different variants of a black uniform, complete with trench coats.

On a hunch he glanced at the seat marked by a **2**. The middle aged Arabic man that sat there, who'd held the rank of Second for longer than some nations had been around, looked tired. That by itself was troubling. For as long as anyone could remember he was always active and energetic. His gaze was down, and his hands were folded over his face, another cue. A man that had stared down world leaders on several occasions was refusing to meet the gaze of those around him. Slavic felt an uncharacteristic pang of fear while he waited.

Half a second past the ten minute mark, the agonized idleness the ten were enduring came to an abrupt halt via a small glowing white light in the center of the circle. It rose out of the ground in the same manner as the door to the room, simply moving through the floor rather of coming from a hole or a projector. In two seconds it stopped at about chest height and floated. Glowing in the same way of the hallway lights, it paused. And waited.

A heartbeat passed before Slavic and the eight others that shared his curse shot upwards to attention, knocking several chairs back in the process. In tandem the circle stood ramrod straight and slammed a fist against their hearts. Then, the ten people waited for acknowledgement. Only a slight rise and fall of the chests showed any movement. The one that no longer shared it was still a split second faster than the rest. Not a surprise, considering that only one member of the circle was older than he was.

The light briefly blinked bright before dimming. Almost laboriously it began expanding, forming a cocoon shape as it grew. The transformation wasn't even, portions bulged and expanded at random as it expanded. It's brightness diminished with its size, showing an almost leathery surface. At first it was brighter than the sun, then to a lightbulb, then down to a candle. Once it was approximately man sized, the light abruptly flashed. When Slavic could see again the cocoon was gone. Where it was there was now only a man. Unconsciously Slavic gulped.

This wasn't the first time he had laid eyes on Him. It wasn't the first meeting with all of _Them_ gathered at once. It wasn't even the first time He'd made his appearance with the cocoon of light, though it was the first time in a while that He'd used that entrance. Normally He simply blinked himself into existence. Never before however, had it happened with a former Servant still among them, alive and breathing. They usually waited longer as well.

**At ease**, He spoke. The simple phrase wasn't sound, it wasn't a thought. It was somehow both, or neither. Everything the Master said reverberated throughout Slavic's skull. All knowing, omnipotent, all encompassing. It brokered no argument or dissension. Whatever the voice commanded of him, he obeyed. Without question or hesitation. It was like the voice of God, and in some circles the Master could be mistaken for Him. But one small detail filled Slavic with unfamiliar dread.

Like Tribal, the Master's expression was grim.

Obediently the nine current and one former Servants returned to their seats. Risking severe pain, Slavic rotated his eyes around to gauge his comrade's feelings. Before there was concern, now there was uncomfortable fear. The last time he'd seen the Master having anything lower than a calm look was several lifetimes ago. Never had he seen Him looked worried. The effect was amplified upon the others a hundredfold.

Only the First seemed unfazed. She looked bored by the entire affair.

The Master waved his hand at the one that no longer served Him, indicating for him to speak. Slavic couldn't help but notice the small grimace on his face as he stood. Without the constant regeneration even minor aches and pains made themselves glaringly obvious. The former Elbrus breathed deeply before he tried to speak to his comrades.

"What happened?" Tribal fearfully cut him off. He sighed.

"Eighteen hours ago, a disaster of unparalleled magnitude occurred the Earth. A meteor struck Antarctica at approximately half the speed of light. Most of the continent was vaporized, and flooding is happening on all coastlines. The damage is still ongoing, but the estimated casualty count is in the hundreds of millions" he began in a clear, if not confident tone. Several indrawn breaths followed his statement, one of them belonging to Slavic.

"This is only the beginning. Within five years the toll is estimated to be in the billions as climate change will bring on wars" he reported. A slight shudder was all the shock he was allowing himself to show. Dread filled whispers sounded as he paused, unmindful of the breach of protocol. With the circumstances, it was allowed.

"They're calling it Second Impact" he finished. The small shudder became more pronounced as the information sunk in.

**Silence**, the Master commanded. Instantly all conversation ceased, and eighteen eyes focused on Him. He turned to Elbrus and gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

"Thirty minutes ago, my contract ended. I am mortal, no longer a Servant" he continued. No sympathy greeted him, they were still processing the mind boggling body count that was only going to increase.

"Because of this, I cannot complete the task that I was entrusted with. One of the most critical steps of the entire Plan" he said, calmer than he felt. Slavic went slack-jawed with confusion.

_Sacrifices are necessary, I know, but _billions_ of lives for one step_? he thought, utterly baffled.

**If we are to avoid the mistakes of our predecessors, than we must endure this. From this point on the clock is ticking**, the Master added.

"If this is not done, then this base will be all that is left of mankind. All the means are here, all but the one to carry it out" he said. The more he spoke the more confused Slavic became.

"What do you mean?" Tribal asked once again.

"Someone else must see it through. A successor must be chosen. I nominate the Seventh" he spoke.

Slavic did a double take.

"Wait, what!?" he blurted out.

"The entire reason we are here is five hundred feet above us. At this point, Project Seraphrim is nearly completed. All that it needs is a pilot. Out of all of us, you are perfect for the task" Elbrus continued, ignoring his surprise.

"But-" Slavic began to protest, rising from his seat.

**You will do it.**

He sank back into his chair, stunned at the turn of events. First his boring yet stable life was broken up, then he found out that billions were going to die, now he was in charge of the entire project. It made his head spin just thinking about it.

_All of it is on me_, he thought with ice cold fear.

**All of you. Until the mission is completed, the Seventh is in command. Your resources are at his disposal, everything that is not absolutely necessary for our future. You**, He pointed a finger directly at Slavic, freezing him in place with His gaze.

**Elbrus will inform you of everything you need to know regarding the mission. Do not fail me**, the Master commanded. Focused only on him, the effect was strong enough to stagger him.

"I-I wont, my Master" he croaked.

The Master nodded. In a blink of an eye the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. It lasted only a few seconds before they flickered back on. Without so much as a wisp of air the Master vanished.

Chuckling softly, the First Servant looked at him with bemusement.

"So bossman, whats first on the agenda?" she asked him. Eight pairs eyes focused on him and him alone.

Once again, Slavic gulped.

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Meanwhile, on Earth, God's judgment was unleashed upon Man. All according to plan.

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**A/N: Everyone hates long authors notes, including me, but now I feel is the time and place to explain some things. Interference sucked. That was my opinion, thats my friends opinion when she read it (though she tried to not hurt my feelings about it), and that is my stand. I honestly don't think this will be much better, but its worth a shot.  
Theres one more thing. The main thing in fact. Its actually been a while since I've seen NGE, so my memory is rusty. While I'm rewriting this I will be rewatching the series as well, writing a chapter for an episode. It'll follow it better, but I still plan on butchering the stuffing out of canon. As always, Review. I'm always looking to improve, and any and all suggestions are welcome. Even haters, though positive reviews are more welcome.  
For my five followers, I wish I could give you more. Since I can't, I'll just do my best instead. Hope it'll be enough.**


	2. Just Another Day

**A/N: Thanks to fanus obscurus for being the first to follow this. Oh, and I almost forgot:**

**I OWN NOTHING! Except for- wait, never mind.**

_**Just another day**_

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_Off the coast of Japan, 2015..._

It was a bright and beautiful day, with hardly a cloud in sight. The weather today was pleasant, had been pleasant all week in fact. The temperature held at a warm thirty degrees Celsius, but a strong breeze from the sea made it perfect rather than uncomfortable. No rain had fallen for a few days, long enough for some to worry, but long enough for most to enjoy the sun. It was a welcome reprieve from the scorching high summer heat that defined post Impact weather in this part of the world. Overall, a good day.

But all was not well.

Proof of this was on a small road carved out of the new coastline. Lining the road was a large number of tanks, a battalion in total. Each one had the initials of the United Nations stamped onto the hull. Normally their presence in a location such as this would be a drill, practicing for the unlikely but not impossible chance that a hostile foreign power would break from the all encompassing grip of the UN to attack their island nation and the nearby metropolis of Tokyo-3. Today however is not a drill.

"Neat, organized, and disciplined. These guys know their trade" commented one of the observers, examining the formation with critical approval. The patrol boat they stood on rocked lightly from the waves, causing the two passengers to continuously readjust their view.

"They have to. At anytime the entire situation could go belly up. Its either be prepared or die" Slavic replied dryly, still staring out of his binoculars. Tribal lowered his and glanced at him reproachfully. The two had been observing and inspecting the defenses of Tokyo-3 and its nearby regions for a month, looking for and finding a significant number of weaknesses.

"Everything's gone perfectly so far" Tribal pointed out.

"Keywords so far. Everything before was preparation. Everything from today onward is life or death. We can't afford any mistakes" Slavic replied. Tribal sighed in defeat and brought his binoculars back up.

For the seventh time in this hour Slavic looked over his computer tablet, one that showed the status of most of the facets that made up the organization. Just as the six previous times, everything was in the green. Not a moment of the last fifteen years had been wasted, he made sure of it. A small crackle from the driver's radio drew his attention. The man looked over his shoulder to see if his commander was busy and saw his questioning glance.

"Sir, CIC is reporting that the JSSDF Command has an unknown bogey closing in. ETA is very quick" he relayed. Slavic nodded.

"Take us back then" he ordered. The small boat's engine roared to life and it quickly fled the vantage point it had held for most of the morning. It was close enough for someone armed with a pair of high powered binoculars to examine the battalion in moderate detail, but far enough away for said battalion to not notice it, or dismiss it as civilian or coast guard if they did. They could've gotten closer, but he thought the risk was too high.

Slavic let out the breath he'd been holding as they sped along. Once they were close to the formation, a group of cargo carriers doing their best to masquerade as civilians, he grabbed the walkie talkie on his belt. Tribal merely noted Slavic hesitating before depressing the button.

"Its time" he said. Several minutes passed before the response came, just before the boat docked with the larger vessel.

"Finally" hissed the other end, full of malice. A shiver went up his spine as he replaced it.

"I hope you know what your doing" Tribal commented quietly.

"Me too" he replied in kind.

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In sight of the battalion, a plume of water rose from the ruin strewn sea. All the birds nearby took flight and fled; unlike the soldiers, they knew what the cause of it was capable of.

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"May I have your attention. As 12:30 pm today a special state of emergency has been declared in Kanto and Chubu regions surrounding the Tokai district. All residents must evacuate to their designated shelters immediately. I repeat, a special state of emergency..." droned the loudspeaker. It wasn't clear whether the voice was a recording or a live person. Given the repeating warning, likely the former.

It was ignored by only one, a fourteen year old boy.

When the warnings began they fell on headphone plugged ears, and he didn't notice the people around him heeding it with more than a little alarm. While everyone else throughout Tokyo-3 evacuated to the shelters, fearfully looking over their shoulders as they scurried, he stood in front of a pay phone with the intent to make a call. He thought it was luck that the phone was free, and not the beginnings of a disaster. Around him the city became empty of human life as he listened to the phone.

"We're sorry, due to the state of special emergency no lines are currently available. This is a recording" the ever cheerful recorded voice said. He looked at the speaker with annoyance.

"Its no use. This is dumb" Shinji said exasperatedly as he set the receiver down.

Shinji Ikari had many issues, but he was considered by many to be normal. Relatively speaking of course, the definition of normal was drastically altered in the fifteen years since Second Impact. He was a good cook, a decent cello player, and well known for his kind heart. The few friends he had over the years would attest to this, along with the few barely serious girlfriends that briefly dated him. When the postcard with ten very special words arrived, he deliberated for all of two days before catching the express train.

"Why are we meeting here anyway?" he questioned the empty street.

Once again he reached into his pocket and grabbed the postcard, brushing against the letter. The postcard showed a scantily clad woman flashing a peace sign and smiling on some generic beach that could have been located anywhere from Okinawa to Portugal. Written on the card were detailed directions to where they were supposed to meet. Along with an arrow pointing to her cleavage. He wasn't sure if his father drew that or her. The former made sense, but the latter carried a number of uncomfortable implications.

"We're not meeting here I suppose. She's probably a ditz anyway" he said with a shrug as he stuffed it back into his pocket. It finally dawned on him that except for the cicadas the bustling city was silent and empty. At last he began to process the repeating loudspeaker's message.

"Huh. Maybe I should find a shelter..." he said to himself as he looked around. As luck would have it there wasn't a single marker to any shelter that he could see. A flicker of movement interrupted his scanning.

Shinji squinted his eyes to see. There was a girl standing in the middle of the road some distance away, and it looked like she was staring at him. From this distance he couldn't tell much, but it looked like she was wearing a dress or a uniform, and had what could only be blue hair. A flock of birds were startled by an unseen presence and took flight. Shinji took his eyes off the apparition for only a split second, but when he looked back she was gone, like she never existed at all.

"What the..." he trailed off. A nearby explosion put any thoughts of his to rest. Reflexively he plugged his ears and frantically searched for the source.

_Terrorists?_, he thought frantically. Attacks by them were rare, but certainly not unheard of. The multi pitched whine of jet engines, many of them, both snapped his head around and ended that train of thought. Coming over a nearby hill was the source. Multiple military VTOLs, a dozen at least, were flying backwards and firing. Before Shinji could wonder what their target was, it revealed itself.

It was like a madman's imagining of a human, twisted and nightmarish. Its skin was dark green and it had massive bone-like protrusions on its shoulders back and chest; the shoulders looked like armor plates, the chest looked like ribs. Between the ribs was a large dark red orb, displayed proudly. The head was the worst part; its neck was tiny, and all that was there to identify it was a medieval mask that resembled a bird's head. The arms were stretched and ended in three fingers, and the legs had spikes growing put of the knees. The entire thing was enormous, dwarfing the nearby buildings. It strolled through the city with the same level of concern as a recent tourist.

Powerful gusts from several missiles streaked overhead, knocking Shinji to the ground. Through the splayed fingers of the hand held out to protect him he saw the two that were tens of feet above the ground join a number of their brethren in striking the creature. Its head reared back as powerful explosions buffeted the nearby space, removing every trace of moisture from the air. The smoke cleared quickly and showed the monster was completely unharmed.

Shinji gaped in terror. Never in his life had he seen something even remotely like that, that _thing_. As he watched, it lazily raised on arm and pointed its hand at one of the VTOLs. A beam of purplish light shot from its palm and impacted an unlucky VTOL, destroying it in an instant. Just as it appeared the beam retracted back into it's arm. The flaming wreckage plummeted to the ground, landing only a stones throw from the cowering teenager.

The monster turned its mask-face around is if searching for a moment before the space around it lit up like a sunrise and a massive white halo formed above it's head. It flew up into the air, defying gravity without a second thought. Shinji was paralyzed with fear and amazement; it was truly unlike anything he had ever seen before. A maniacally idle thought compared what it was doing to a christian angel. And then it stomped on the wrecked VTOL.

Twenty feet away from Shinji.

The remaining fuel and ammunition that hadn't already exploded promptly did so. What saved his life was, ironically enough, the creature itself; it's foot blocked most of the flames and the shockwave from reaching Shinji, who was still on the ground. His utter terror from the situation also contributed to his survival. Had he ran, either the heat or a cloud of razor sharp shrapnel would have killed him as well.

The boy thought he was dead. There was no other explanation of how he could've survived. No other explanation of how a creature like that could exist. No other explanation for the small car that skidded to a stop between the monster's feet, or its door opening and showing the smiling, sunglass wearing face of the woman on the postcard that called him here. No explanation of how she looked completely at ease. Apart from death, which was a real possibility.

"Sorry I'm late. Get in" she commanded cheerfully.

Shinji blinked._ I'm definitely dead_, he thought. The remaining VTOLs began a barrage against the monster with everything they had left. With explosions above him, he decided that whatever afterlife that the woman would take him to was better than his current circumstances. He half ran, half stumbled into the waiting door. He wasn't conscious of his hand shutting it behind him.

The boy's rear touched the thickly padded seat the very second the woman slammed the car into drive and peeled out of there. Apparently the monster noticed, because it began stomping the pavement beneath it like an angry child. The car bounced and wobbled, but the woman was much better behind the wheel than anyone thought. Somehow the wheels had enough purchase to escape the angry giant and get clear. Shinji screamed the entire way.

Behind them, more aircraft arrived and joined in on the attack. Most of the UN force assigned for the operation in Japan consisted of Japanese Strategic Self Defense Force, or JSSDF. It was their ball and their court, so to speak. In the spirit of cooperation however, military units and aircraft from China, Korea, and the United States were also present and participating. For those 'in the know', it was a test to see how well a conventional military would fare in the event one of these creatures appeared on their respective soils.

The results were disquieting, but Shinji found that out later. For now, he focused on calming down enough to stop panicking. The woman's driving wasn't helping matters; he couldn't see any speed limit signs but he assumed they were violating them. He wasn't complaining much. The farther he was from the monster the better. What seemed like years passed before his breathing finally slowed and his heartbeat returned to passable speed.

"You alright?" she asked, concerned. Shinji ket out a calming exhalation that had minimal effect.

"I'll live" he said.

"Good" she said cheerfully. It took his fear addled mind a few moments to remember her name.

"You're Misato Katsuragi right?" he asked cautiously. She nodded.

"The one and only. We meet at last Shinji Ikari" she proclaimed triumphantly. He nodded in agreement.

Silence reigned for a time after that. Misato concentrated on driving while Shinji concentrated on staying alert. All the adrenaline his body pumped into itself was seeping out, leaving him tired and restless. Misato seemed to realize that, and refrained from asking questions. Idly he reached into his pocket and felt the worn paper of his friend's words. He longed to pull it out and reread it despite knowing every word by heart, but before he could Misato slammed on the brakes.

Without warning she reached into the back seat and grabbed a pair of binoculars, a military type by the look, and peered out Shinji's window. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one side, he became an unwilling stand that Misato used to steady herself while she peered at something at the far horizon. On the other, there was a beautiful woman pressed up against him. He stared in the same direction as her and forced himself to think of birds.

"Wait just a minute" she muttered, leaning almost out the window.

"Whats going on?" Shinji asked, alarm replacing the inconvenient feelings.

"They're retreating. But why-" her face quickly turned to horror. "They're going to use an N2 mine! Get down!" she shouted, tackling him to the floor.

For a brief second, there was a strange silence that seemed all encompassing. For that second, it was like the world had ceased to exist, and now there was only light. Then the shockwave came and flipped the car. Shinji broke out in a fresh round of screaming, now bolstered by Misato's own voice. The tiny car flipped and rolled many times, ending on it's side a hundred feet away from the road.

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In NERV's command center, one of the three generals that had been overseeing the operation leaned back with a huff, a self satisfied smirk on his face.

"Well Ikari" he emphasized the name with extra condescension, "looks like you wont be getting a shot at it" his tone was complete and total confidence. The object of his ridicule didn't react, he merely stared at the holographic screen with knotted hands over his mouth. Neither his posture nor his reflective glasses revealed anything other than calm boredom.

When the feed was restored, showing the undamaged target, he smiled at their dumbfounded expressions and their sputtering exclamations of the impossibility of the situation. Watching those arrogant fools get taken down a notch never failed to warm his cold and broken heart.

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After miraculously discovering that he had cheated death not once but twice on the same day, Shinji felt both exhilarated and tired. The car held similar luck, it was badly beat up and on one side, but three hefty pushes by the two occupants (after the boy coughed up a wad of dirt that found it's way inside his mouth) and it returned to being on the wheels, where it belonged. Misato clapped her hands together to shake off the dust, smiling at their handiwork.

"There we go. Thanks Shinji. You're pretty useful" she said appreciably.

"Thank you, but I should be thanking you miss Katsuragi. If you hadn't shown up I'd wouldn't be alive" Shinji replied. She chuckled.

"Misato's fine. And I guess you're right. I mean, still being there while the N2 mine went off..." she trailed off nervously.

"What was that thing anyway?" Shinji asked.

"Well, we at NERV call it an Angel" she said with some apprehension. He raised an eyebrow.

"Angel? Odd name for a monster" he commented. Misato shrugged.

"Hey, I don't make policy. Now, about getting it running again..." she trailed off as she looked around. Her eyes lit up with a devilish gleam when she spotted her target.

"Hey, mind doing some more grunt work?" she offered.

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The creature NERV dubbed an Angel stood in the middle of the blast zone of the N2 mine. Around it was the bowl shaped curve of Japan's newest war scar, glowing and simmering with the remnant of a powerful but non radioactive explosive. Later, when the heat dissipated, the new layer of glass would look quite beautiful when seen from the sky, and a bright and easily recognizable landmark when seen from space. A fascinating but temporary feature that would last approximately a month.

Contrary to accepted opinion, the Angel was harmed by the blast. In the same sense that a human is harmed by sunburn. The damage, while minimal, could cause unforeseen problems when it reached it's destination. For that reason it decided, reluctantly, that it would need some time to heal and adapt it's outer skin. The only indicators of this was the rhythmic movement of the large gills, hidden until now, and the new and smaller mask that formed under the main 'face'. The effects weren't much, but it bought NERV a few hours of precious time.

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"Yes, of course, his safety is my top priority. Listen, could you send a car tram for us, express of course" Misato said into her phone. Shinji heard an inaudible reply from the other end. He had the impression whoever it was wasn't too pleased. A bump rattled the car.

"Well I did volunteer to pick him up, so its only my duty to make sure he gets there. Se ya" she said sweetly as she ended the call. A flick of her wrist and it was gone like a magic trick. Shinji took a nervous glance at the back seat as she called.

"Um, I'm not sure what we did was legal" he hesitantly said, unknowing interrupting Misato's internal wailing on the condition of her precious car.

"Its okay" Misato waved her hand "I'm a government official and its an emergency. We needed a working car, right? Besides, I'll make sure the shop gets reimbursed. No problem" she said confidently.

"That has to be the worst excuse for theft I've ever heard" Shinji stated dryly. Misato shot him a mock scowl. Another road bump rattled the taped up car and shook the dozen or so stolen batteries in the back.

"You're no fun. You know, you're not as cute as I imagined" she said, disappointed. Without missing a beat Shinji replied:

"And you're not as mature as I thought" Misato took on a true scowl and made him pay for that insult. It was fortunate they were the only ones on the road. Otherwise she might have caused an accident from her swerving around. In the meantime Shinji's throat was starting to get sore from all the screaming he was doing.

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What no one at NERV knew was that the video feed was being hacked and rerouted to a certain cargo ship approaching the harbor. It was observed by ten individuals that schemed to change the world.

"And our source says this is one of the weaker ones" one Servant, wearing sunglasses despite the relative dimness, said with contempt and boredom. It was an excellent cover for his fear.

"Thats what he said" Tribal replied absently. Silence continued until the feed went to static from the monster destroying the unfortunate VTOL who's only sin was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only Servant that wasn't wearing black stated their thoughts and concerns with a single well worded phrase that appropriately summed up the JSSDF's situation.

"Well, we're boned" commented the First.

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The three generals sat haughtily over the Commander, fully aware that their roles were reversed.

"Commander, this operation is being entrusted to you. Don't betray our trust" the one in the middle threatened.

"We've already seen our weapons ate useless. Are you sure you can defeat this thing?" The left general asked, haughty but with definite fear. Commander Ikari smirked.

"That is why NERV exists" he said. The generals gave no reply as the elevator they were on left.

"So, whats our plan?" Vice Commander Fuyutski asked.

"Activate Unit 01" Commander Ikari replied.

"Activate it? But we have no pilot" Fuyutski reminded him.

"Not anymore. A spare is being delivered" Commander Ikari answered.

Fuyutski briefly wondered how anyone could act so cold to their own child.

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Finally in NERV proper, the blue and badly beaten car was transported on a specially designed car elevator to the parking garage, it's role in the operation completed. Shinji sighed in relief, he no longer had to deal with Misato's driving. He began to reach into his pocket, but his borderline psychotic of a driver shoved a small booklet into his face. He blinked in confusion.

"NERV?" he asked when he read the title.

"Its a secret organization under the control of the UN. Pretty cool huh?" Misato said. Shinji shrugged indifferently and took the book. After a quick skim he set it aside and finally pulled out the letter, seeing the outside of his pocket for the first time in several hours. He reread the crumpled and worn paper that made up his mind to begin this adventure.

_-If I was in your place, I would go. Not to see my dad, not to see somewhere new, not even to just get away from life for a while. I'd do it for myself. To prove to that I'm not a coward. That I'm my own person. That I got a spine. To show everyone that I'm not some weak fool who can't stand up for myself. Thats why you should go. You can't live your whole life in his shadow, too afraid to step out and risk pain. After all, whats life without pain? First chance you get tell he how it went. I look forward to reading that you punched him in the face. See the sights while you're at it._

_-Your lot in life, Lucy._

_P.S. Send me a return address too. I'm not settling for this one way thing, not a chance.-_

"Oh, yeah, did your dad send a, wait, whats that?" Misato asked. Her fingers ceased drumming on the steering wheel and her train of thought was derailed.

"Letter from my friend" he answered.

"I see. He moved away or something?" she ventured.

"She, and no. Pen pal, we've been exchanging letters two or three times a week. Actually, we've never met in person" Shinji replied.

"Girl huh? Whats her name?" Misato asked.

"Her names Lucy Kakuzawa" he explained.

"Lucy?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. Shinji nodded.

"Yep. She's from Hokkaido. Honestly, I almost decided not to come here, but she convinced me to go. I'm not sure if it was the best choice" he explained.

"She sounds like a good friend" Misato commented.

"She is" Shinji agreed. He offered the letter to her to read, which she obliged. Before she started she grinned and pointed out the window. Shinji raised his own eyebrow before his eyes traveled to the direction of her finger. When he saw outside he forgot any hint of trepidation.

"Wow! Its a real Geofront!" Shinji exclaimed with amazement as he pressed up against the glass.

A beautiful sight of trees and scenery stretched as far as he could see, off to an indeterminable horizon. Below, a black pyramid rose from a forest of green trees and a medium sized lake, seemingly transplanted from a pre-Impact paradise. Above, a glowing roof that mirrored the natural sky, broken by an organized nest of skyscrapers hanging above the enormous gulf. The sight was simply breathtaking. NERV's Geofront was a marvel in every way imaginable.

"This is NERV central. A fortress for all mankind and a key to rebuilding our world" Misato said, glowing with optimism and pride.

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Blindingly oblivious to the danger, the first of the flotilla's ships docked at the port. No sooner than it stopped moving privately trained soldiers and mercenaries began swarming from the ship and making their way into the city. Under normal circumstances their progress would have bern hampered by local defenders, but for now the city was empty and the invaders were unhindered.

The single greatest flaw of Tokyo-3 was the vulnerability to specialist attack, namely the small army making their way into the highly classified international organization. For now, the army hides, waiting for the order to invade the enormous fortress under their feet. A few security guards and some locked blast doors would be the only obstacles they faced. Once inside, the very fortress that the military was supposed to protect would prevent any attempt at reclaiming the city.

Exactly as planned.

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"This isn't the right way" Shinji pointed out, glancing at the map Misato had for confirmation. She chuckled angrily, internally regretting giving him the map. He wasn't sure exactly when it happened, but her normal cheer became actively strained and forced. Likely after the first five minutes of confused wandering and following a map that looked suspiciously hand drawn. After the twentieth reminder she finally snapped.

"Okay then genius, what would Lucy do?" Misato jabbed. The moment the words left her mouth she clamped her jaws shut, regretting it with a painful wince. As she expected, Shinji looked away and didn't meet her eyes. To her surprise however, he chuckled himself.

"Probably punch me in the head and do it herself. Thats what she would do" he replied, sounding at ease.

After that, Shinji didn't add anymore comments and Misato didn't ask for the map back. Silence followed them like a cold wind (adding to the lower temperature already present in the HQ) until they found an elevator, and for a short time afterward. Once the pair reached the correct level, the door opened and revealed an unwanted surprise.

"Uh, hi there Ritsuko" she sputtered. The other woman sighed.

"Lost again I see" she said.

'Ritsuko' was a thirtyish blonde haired woman wearing a lab coat and a swim suit. How and why she was wearing that was a mystery to Shinji. It was a question he'd answer when she wasn't immediately in front of him, or if she wasn't in such a skimpy outfit. As it was, well, for his many faults he was still a teenage boy. Remembering the booklet, he opened it up and tried to concentrate on that and nothing else. So intent on ignoring her, he missed what they were saying about him.

"So, this is Shinji?" Ritsuko asked.

"Yep. According to the Marduk report, he's the Third child" Misato answered.

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"Handle the rest of this" Commander Ikari ordered. He waved his gloved hand in a dismissal gesture and left without a backwards glance. Fuyutski sighed.

"Their first meeting in three years" he said quietly.

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"Unit 01? Seriously? That hunk of junk hasnt worked for as long as I've been here" Misato snorted.

"Since Unit 00 is still on lockdown and Unit 02s' in Germany, its our best shot" Ritsuko replied.

"Never worked before. What are the odds of it doing it now?" Misato asked.

"Lets see, if I remember right, zero-point-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-one percent. Around here we call it the O-9 system" she windily explained.

"So thats a no" Misato tempted.

"Don't insult me. Its O-9, as in Oni. Japanese demon" Ritsuko shot back.

The entire conversation was lost on Shinji, who was buried in the booklet Misato gave him earlier. He was so lost that he didn't notice the orange tank that they were passing, or the shadow of a shape inside. A slight tug on his arm was all the attention that he gave to his surroundings, and so when they entered a cavernous dark room he was confused as to why. When the lights flicked on he jumped in surprise.

"It-its a face! A giant robot?" he fearfully questioned.

The massive face looked like a folklore demon, complete with a jutting forehead and chin. The dominant color was purple, but green and black patches are arranged in a systematic pattern over the face. A spear like horn stood up from the forehead, and it's yellow eyes seemed to bore into Shinji's own. Ritsuko spared a bored glance at the demon-like face.

"This is the synthetic life form called Evangelion. This is Unit 01" she answered. Shinji gulped.

"Is this my father's work?" he asked quietly.

"Correct" boomed the loudspeaker. All three present looked up to what must have been an observation post. Shinji couldn't see many details, but he could easily tell his father was up there, gazing down at them like a tinpot dictator. He was too far away to see his expression, but Shinji guessed he was smirking.

"Hello Shinji. Its been a while" he greeted aloofly. Shinji dropped his head and clenched his eyes and hands.

"Why did you bring me here" he spoke quietly.

"I have a use for you" Commander Ikari answered, sounding impatient. Slowly Shinji's head raised. When his eyes locked onto the glass, the Commander saw the glaring face of fury.

"I wasn't asking you" he said slowly and angrily, turning to the one that brought him to this place.

"You are the only one who can pilot this thing. You are the only one who stop the Angel" Misato answered. All trace of cheer was gone.

"I have never seen this thing before in my life. And you expect me to hop right in and risk my life?!" Shinji shouted at her.

_This is bad_, Misato thought. Her psyche report said he would most likely crumble in terror and break down, not be defiant. It did mention some kind of motivation would most likely be necessary to get him to do so. It didnt specify how. The uncomfortable possibility of how briefly occurred to her earlier. But in her current state, she might not leave alive. A lightning bolt of inspiration hit, one that churned her gut with how low it was. But there was no time.

"Shinji" she pleaded.

"What" he growled.

"What would Lucy do?" Mistao asked.

The effect was instantaneous. His expression morphed into shock, and all the anger vanished.

"What?" He asked, sounding dazed. Ritsuko opened her mouth to ask what they were talking about, but a frantic hand wave from Mistao shut her up.

"What would Lucy do if she was here?" she enunciated. Shinji shakily breathed out.

"She'd probably punch me in the head and do it herself" he answered quietly.

"Do you wanna tell her that you fumbled the chance to save the world and be a hero?" She asked carefully.

"No" he said, shaking his head.

"Do this, and you will have immediate status as a fearless hero. Now and forever" she tempted. Shinji gulped.

"I'm scared" he admitted quietly. Misato smiled.

"Its okay. The secret is that everyones afraid. Its just a matter of acting on it" she admitted herself. Shinji let out another and far shakier breath.

"Okay. Okay then, lets do this. Before i realize what I'm doing and get out of here" he said quietly.

Up above, the Commander blinked in surprise. Of all the things he'd been expecting, this wasn't one of them. With a flick of his wrist a private line was opened to the infirmary.

"Change of plans. You may step down" he mumbled.

"Yes sir" came the weak reply.

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Slavic clapped Tribal on his shoulder.

"You ready for this?" he asked over the roar of the helicopter. He smirked and slapped a magazine into his assault rifle.

"As ready as you are" he answered.

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At last, they were ready.

Technicians talked over the radio, listing off the various functions of the complex process of launching an Evangelion into combat. So far, everything was in the green or close enough to not matter. Enormous machines moved at a brisk pace to free the Eva from its long imprisonment. Below several thousand gallons of concentrated LCL drained out to prepared but neglected tanks for future storage. Constantly tested processes' moved the Eva to the rail lines that would transport it to the surface.

Shinji was taking it far better than anyone anticipated, though he was still terrified.

On the bridge, everything moved with the clockwork precision born from repeated drills that successfully buried the latent fear. Misato took her place at the center of the action, directing the entire combat operation. Anyone who witnessed her now and saw her during her off hours would be hard pressed to reconcile the opposite sides.

One of the lieutenants looked up from her screen.

"Ma'am, we're ready for launch" Lt. Ibuki reported. Misato nodded and took a deep breath. Discreetly she motioned for the comm line to Unit 01 to opened. They had no way of knowing that as she gave the legendary order, someone else onboard a super cargo carrier gave their own at the exact same time.

"Eva launch!" Misato Katsuragi and Slavic commanded in unison.

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**A/N: Here it is at last, more are on the way, and. Sorry for the wait, between a new job and a bad case of block progress has been slow. I'm on the lookout for an editor (I go over it repeatedly but I always miss something), so PM me if anyones interested. Review please.**


	3. Aftermath

**A/N: This is another retelling of a story thats been told more than a thousand times already. This story will not be much different in where it begins. Where it will be is where it ends.**

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_near Tokyo-3, early evening_

Once the ship was within sight of the dock, it began. The twin doors that once held the more precious cargo safely below opened in a squeal of anticipated abuse. As it opened, a black form rose from the murky darkness and seemed to grow larger. All lights on the outside of the ship were extinguished, so no details could he discerned, apart from it's sheer size. Once it had reached higher than the control bridge it's own special trick was played.

A sound like the ruffle of a sail was heard, only increased in scale. On the deck most of the stars were blotted out by an unseen object. It didn't spread out in all directions, the port and starboard sides were almost completely gone while the bow and stern were still largely visible. Two yellow lights blinked on, though they more resembled a pair of eyes opening. The form briefly shrunk, as if crouching down. Suddenly the entire ship was rocked, and below the hull stretched and nearly tore apart from the stress.

The form was now in the sky. Powerful gust buffeted the deck, along with the ruffling sound increasing a thousandfold. To an outside observer, it sounded like the flapping of bird wings. Almost as quickly as it appeared the gusts vanished. The black blot in the sky had grown, making a number of stars vanish into inky darkness. It flew away with unnatural speed as it made it's way towards Tokyo-3. And to those who battled the Messengers.

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Shinji gasped.

The sudden movement of him shooting straight upwards almost yanked the IV in his arm out. The monitor showing his heartbeat and breathing began beeping frantically. For a second his eyes swung wildly around, the memory of what happened still livid. As his breathing slowed it faded, until only the strong sensation of fear remained. He blinked and tried to remember what it was and found that he couldn't. Somehow, a block had formed around the event that refused to clear.

He groaned and pressed his palm against his aching skull. Something was wrong, and it took him a full minute to process what it was. To his right, a window that showed a beautiful view of the Geofront. Shinji might have appreciated such a view if not for the obscene level of light that struck his sore eyes like a scratched violin. A pained guess placed the time at mid day. Around him, a clean and antiseptic hospital room, with a similar mattress underneath him. And above him, a ceiling he'd never seen before.

"Unfamiliar ceiling" he said quietly. Brief inspection revealed he was naked save for a gown and a blanket. He blushed at the thought of someone undressing him. Ignoring the train of thought, he made a measured glance around the room which revealed his clothes, cleaned, pressed, and waiting for their owner. Lying on top of the pile was an ID card showing his grim expression, dating from his last school photo. After a brief test of his wobbly but stable legs, he reached for the clothes and it's promise of freedom, or at least escape.

Once he was fully dressed (removing the IV without a second thought) he realized his letter was gone. He shrugged; he could still remember the words, so it wasn't a total loss. As his hand touched the door knob, he once again tried to remember. With a spark it hit him, all the events of the previous night came back to him in a torrent of perfectly recalled memory. All the details came back, it was like he was reliving the events of the past night again.

He immediately wished he hadn't.

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_15 Hours earlier_

The order was given. Troops streamed into the many entrances of the Geofront in calculated waves, each team neutralizing any and all opposition with minimal effort. Their orders were to secure the 'impregnable' fortress with as little damage and with as few casualties as possible, and their equipment reflected that. Anyone who studied their tactics and knew their orders would come to the conclusion that their masters wanted everything as intact as possible. The goal was to take control, not to destroy. Shinji discovered that and much more later.

He had raised an eyebrow when Ritsuko came to him with a pair of what looked like hair clips, but he didnt protest when she attached them to his head. He didn't protest when they strapped him into a rather comfortable seat inside an enormous tube. Judging from the way the equipment was arranged, the 'entry plug', as they called it, was inserted into the Evangelion's back, and from there the pilot controlled the monstrosity. Before he went in Misato asked for his wallet and any valuables. Not understanding but not protesting either, he complied. He kept Lucy's letter for luck.

He did protest when the plug began filling with water.

Shinji panicked for a moment before he realized the 'water' was both breathable and foul tasting. The Eva, Unit 01 Ritsuko called it, moved on rail lines the size of trains to the wall. Four clamps attached themselves to the armor, and with a burst of electricity Unit 01 shot upward. Shinji gritted his teeth and groaned in effort. The G-force exerting itself strained him but almost nothing else, something the engineers would later consider a godsend.

Above, the Angel took a break from it's random destruction of the city to observe a square apparently opening up out of nowhere in the middle of the intersection. Armor designed to shrug off nuclear grade explosives slid apart and two skyscraper height rails shot into the sky, crackling with contained lightning. If it was human, it would have raised it's eyebrows in amazement at the sight of the purple construct that slammed into the rails with great force. A clamp attached a power cable while the previous clamps released, leaving Unit 01 standing on it's own for the first time in it's existence.

"Okay Shinji, focus on walking" Ritsuko gently prodded. Shinji gulped a breath of the foul liquid (Ritsuko called it LCL) and tried to comply.

"Okay, walking. Simple" he mumbled nervously. He sent the mental command, unsure of what he was doing at all.

To the amazement of everyone on the bridge, Unit 01's foot hesitantly came up and stepped forward, leaving a deep imprint on the supposedly bomb proof pavement.

"He's walking!" Ritsuko excitedly cried out. Grins broke out among the three lieutenants and captain who's purpose was to manage battles like this. Their hopes were dashed just as quickly when the next step wasn't placed correctly, and it tripped over the power cable. Shinji cried out in pain when the Eva landed face first on the street. A corner of his mind questioned how he somehow felt the pain of impact.

"Shinji look out!" Misato shouted. He looked up and saw the two faced Angel was almost upon him.

"Get up! Run!" she screamed. The Angel's hand grabbed Unit 01's head and effortlessly lifted it up into the air, its feet dangling off from the pavement.

"Oh shit" Shinji stuttered as the Angel's other hand reached out for his arm, it's intent obvious. In desperation, he did the only thing he could think of. The only thing he could do.

He threw a punch at the red orb.

Shinji was never much of a fighter, his personality insured few conflicts. However, over the years he had gotten into a handful of short brawls, either from a new classmate who wanted to prove dominance or a bully looking for an easy target. So while his experience was limited, he knew how to curl his palm into a fist and slam it into the nearest target in such a way as to inflict a high level of pain. The moment Unit 01's fist made contact, the Angel instantly let go of 'his' head and staggered back.

A weak point, he mentally noted. Unit 01 dropped to it's knees and planted a hand onto the pavement to steady itself. Shinji and the bridge crew knew that he only bought himself a little bit of time, and that a trick like that was unlikely to succeed again. He scrunched up his brow and tried to think of another option.

Running was out of the question, he'd run out of cable quickly. Fighting it hand to hand was next to suicide; while it reached for his arm it's own had ballooned out to a grotesque size, bulging with muscles. He didn't know what the Eva had for weapons, and even if he did he had no idea how to use them. Or even if they would have any effect beyond angering it further. To compound the problem, even if any of the options were viable, he doubted he had enough control over the Eva to make it happen. In layman's terms, he was screwed.

The radio crackled.

In front of him the Angel regained it's bearings and despite the lack of a recognizable face, it glared in fury at the purple Eva. Shinji quietly cursed when a video pane popped into view on the plug wall to his right. For a moment he thought it was either Misato or Ritsuko offering hardly useful advice or orders. A tiny part of him wondered if it would be his father. The pane crackled and an audible thump was heard from it. Only static showed from the screen.

"Why hello there! Nice night isn't it?" spoke a female voice he didn't recognize. The tone was optimistic and cheerful, but something about it was off. This present situation prevented him from dwelling on it.

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He found out much later, but at the same time, on the ship's bridge, Slavic slammed his fist against an unlucky panel. The many subordinates around him cringed and shrunk away in fear.

"Dammit! How the hell did she hack the comm?!" he demanded in anger.

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The Angel advanced on the crouched Unit 01. Before its movement was a slow trot, like an animal. Now it moved with purpose and anger, it's stomps on the ground making small earthquakes in the process. Though it had no features that corresponded with a human's, Shinji could tell it was furious. Deservedly so. Out of it's left arm a beam of energy extended, exactly like what destroyed the VTOL earlier. Though unsure of how, Shinji managed to bring the Eva to it's feet.

"Say, it looks like you're new at this" the screen continued, sounding interested but detached. Shinji glanced at it with utter bafflement.

"Tell you what, how about I do you a favor and handle this. But you owe me one" the speaker offered. Before he could do anything the Angel paused. Almost forgetting about him, it turned in the direction of the harbor. Confused, Shinji followed it's gaze. He and the fifty or so people on the bridge were struck speechless, none more so than the stoic Commander Ikari.

Swooping in, flying on enormous wings was an enormous being. An Evangelion.

It's wings flared up as it' feet gently (or as gently as something like it could do) touched the rooftop of a nearby retracted skyscraper, gently perching in a birdlike fashion. While the wings pulled inward protectively, the Eva crouched down similarly to how Unit 01 was a moment ago, using one hand to steady itself on the cracked concrete and metal rooftop. It observed cooly (or Shinji imagined it did) the urban battlefield.

At a glance it resembled Unit 01, the segmented and almost organic armor was almost exactly like his own, complete with the demonic face. It differed by the lack of shoulder pylons, instead having rounded and compact armor instead. Small spikes rose upward from the knees and elbows, and the feet were split into two toes, resembling a bird's foot. The chin on the face was smaller, and it lacked a horn. The wings were the most distinctive part; they were solid, no pattern that indicated feathers or anything like it. Each one was at least as long as the Eva was tall. Shinji made a ballpark estimate of around 200 meters for the wingspan. The main armor color was a dark green, with white patches on certain portions, similar to the green pattern on Unit 01.

"Wow you're ugly. How about I fix that" the pilot taunted.

Almost too fast for Shinji's eyes to track, it leaped from it's perch towards the Angel, wrecking the rooftop it used as a springboard. In midair it twisted, performing a front flip that ended with it's two toed foot slamming into the red orb on it's chest. Either the pilot observed Shinji hitting it and concluded it was a weak point or she guessed it was on her own. Regardless, the effect on the Angel was nearly identical to what happened a few minutes ago, multiplied by ten.

Shinji made it stumble; the newcomer made it fly backwards into a building.

Right before the winged Eva's foot made contact, a feeling that resembled a static shock raced over Shinji. It quickly vanished, barely distracting him from the sight before his eyes. It was the feeling of an AT field being canceled out, a feeling he would become familiar with in the months to come.

The newcomer crouched and grabbed something on it's hip, revealing a large knife that bordered on being a sword and was just short of the length of it's forearm. An Eva sized bowie knife. While he watched the edge of the blade began glowing, the power and rapid vibrations producing an obscene amount of heat. The end result could theoretically cut through anything.

"Progressive weaponry?" Ritsuko breathlessly muttered. She was ignored in favor of the battle.

Once the Angel had struggled back onto it's feet she leaped again, blade moving upwards. The Angel staggered again, the green Eva holding itself close to it in a borderline embrace. They held themselves like that for a moment before the Eva suddenly drew back and raised on wing to cover itself. Shinji had a brief moment to see that red orb on the Angel's chest was visibly cracked before it began glowing brighter than the now set sun.

The explosion was fairly weak compared to the N2 mine used earlier, but his proximity to it buffered him and nearly knocked Unit 01 to the ground. Starting to get the hang of piloting, he raised a protective arm to shield himself. In seconds it was over. He hesitantly lowered it when the light dissipated.

The Eva's wings drew back as it stood straight, flicking the larger bits of debris of of them. It spared a measured glance towards the burning hunk of what was the enemy of mankind.

"Thank you" Shinji said, unsure if the pilot could hear him.

The Eva's head snapped to his direction and it's yellow eyes seemed to bore into his own. Slowly it walked to him, taking careful steps on the street. Shinji noticed it didnt walk like a normal human would, a full body movement that defined normal. Instead it slumped it's head down and almost stalking it's way over to him. It reminded him of a wolf closing in on something unfamiliar. She paused when it was within arms reach (of an Eva) with him.

"You're welcome" she said softly. Shinji let out a relived sigh as she said that, only half catching what she said next.

"Nothing personal" she continued, suddenly drawing back. Her fist moved lightning fast, striking Unit 01 directly between the eyes. He was out cold before he hit the ground.

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Shinji groaned as he clutched his forehead. The memory was so vivid, it was like he was experiencing it again. Definitely not a pleasant event. So many questions... He shook his head in a futile action to clear his thoughts. He tried to walk forward but ruefully discovered he'd slumped against the wall next to the door. The slight wobble in his legs returned when he tried to stand up, failing in his first attempt.

"Crap" Shinji muttered.

His second try went smoother. Using the wall, he pushed himself off of his rear and back onto his feet. A tense minute passed before he felt stable enough to walk fine again. He sighed and mentally prepared himself to get lost, recalling the complex ordeal that he went through for just simple entry. Hopefully the area he was in was clearly marked; it wasn't a good idea to get lost in case of an emergency. His fingers were a centimeter from making contact with the knob when it turned on it's own.

He barely avoided being hit by the door, finding out it swung open instead of out. One raised eyebrow later and he found out who opened the door.

"Hey you're up! Feeling better already?" Misato greeted. Shinji sighed again.

"Could be better" he said sullenly.

"Sure?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm sure" he answered. A brief and awkward pause came over the two.

"So, wanna get out of here?" she offered.

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Normally the council was a perpetually serious and highly egotistical group focused on itself and it's goals, which were known only to them and a handful of trusted subordinates.

Today is not a normal day.

"This an outrage!" one member shouted, hidden behind a blank monolith.

"The scenario is in jeopardy!" another proclaimed.

"What do we do?" one fearfully asked. And so on.

Anger, confusion, and worry ran through these men, all twelve assembled for the first time in years due to the extraordinary circumstances. But permeating everything was the sickly sense of Fright. The fear that their carefully laid plans, decades on the making, were about to be ruined. Fear that a competitor had arrived, either to halt the process or possibly claim it for themselves. But above all, fear that the unidentified attacker's next target was the council itself.

Commander Ikari rode through the storm with the calm poise that he spent much time and effort creating. A small portion of him reveled in their suffering, the same part that enjoyed the humiliation of the JSSDF. Inwardly however, his fear was even greater than the council's. He had far more to lose than these foolish old men had, for unlike most of them his stake was personal. None of his fear or worry cracked the armor, he had far too much discipline to allow that to happen.

"Enough!" the Chairman of the council, one of the few present that did not hide himself behind a monolith, commanded to the most powerful men on Earth. The shouting and bickering immediately died down to near quiet, though grumbling continued for a minute.

"Ikari" the Chairman growled, emphasizing the name with as much disdain as possible, "you were there when this invader attacked. Did you recognize their identity" he demanded.

"No" Ikari replied curtly.

"Our own spies report the invader was a complete surprise. I don't believe anyone outside of this unknown group was knew what was going to happen" the monolith with the emblazoned 05 added. It was a poorly kept secret that that member was an ally of the Commander, and usually sided with him. The Commander made a mental note to repay him later, as well as to root out said spies.

"Very well. Ikari, from this point on this group is to be considered hostile to both the scenario and the security of NERV. If or when they reveal themselves again, terminate them with extreme prejudice" he ordered, his tone of authority not quite enough to mask his fear. That alone was troubling.

Lorenz Kihl, American by birth but officially a German citizen, was a hard man to scare.

"It shall be done" he said dryly. For one of the few times in his entire career of dealing with them, it was an order he planned to carry out to the letter. There was simply too much at stake for a group of fools to oppose him now. Fools that not only managed to build one of the single most expensive constructs in human history in complete secrecy, but to build one that at a glance was superior to their own. It was a sobering thought.

What else are they capable of? he asked himself. He wasn't sure if he wanted an answer.

Most of the monoliths vanished, their masters disconnecting from the surveillance proof communication that more often than not made decisions that affected the entire world. The last one to blink off was the chairman, who sent him a death glare through his mechanical eyes. It too was a poorly kept secret that the two hated each other. Once they were gone the lights of the meeting room flickered back on. The Commander undid his hands from the pose that he normally carried in front of his subordinates.

Which was followed by the cold feeling of a gun barrel pressing against his neck.

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"I'm living with you" Shinji stated flatly, trying to put as much of his disbelief into the statement as possible.

"Yep. Could use another roommate" Misato answered, errantly tossing some of her hair back against the breeze.

The route out of the infirmary, large enough to qualify as a hospital in it's own right, was so simple and idiot proof that not even the dullest of fools could get lost in or out. For Misato, it wasn't for the lack of trying. Fortunately she was motivated by the sudden urge to lift her new charge's spirits, and knew of the perfect opportunity to do so. Shinji finding a proper well detailed map helped as well.

Her small Renault Alpine was still in rough shape, the battle and the clean up afterwards ate up all the time she had set aside for repairs. Still, it ran. If a bit roughly. From what she explained of the clean up effort, he was glad to be out cold. Especially considering the powerful and oppressive heat wave that only let up in the past few hours. Then she dropped the bombshell on his living arrangements.

"So what happened?" Shinji asked, changing the subject.

"I cleared it with the section-2 chief and Ritsuko. She wasn't too happy about it. Cant expect a boy your age to live on his own can we?" she answered offhandedly. Outside Shinji noticed they were heading outside of the city proper.

"I meant the green Eva" he said.

Like a lightswitch the tired but good mood she was in vanished, replaced by the cold precision that made her so dangerous and was one of the main reasons she had her current position.

"After it knocked you out it flew away. The JSSDF tried to track it, but it vanished" Misato said cautiously.

"Who were they?" Shinji asked.

"I don't know" she replied softly.

Silence persisted after that. It held like a straightjacket until she parked the car on a small hill a few kilometers from the city limits. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, indicating for him to do the same. She then led him up the small hill, clearly a known tourist destination from the railings and the coin fed viewing binoculars, to a beautiful view of Tokyo-3, framed by the setting sun. For the first time Shinji had an idea of the city's scale, and found it relatively small. Misato kept glancing at her watch, her earlier concern vanished.

"It looks so lonely" he mumbled.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Its a nice view, but why did you bring me here?" He asked her. She smirked as she stared at her watch.

"Here we go" she said, sounding excited and blissfully unaware of the coup et tat taking place at that very moment. She pointed at the city, and Shinji looked.

The boy's jaw dropped as everything changed before his eyes. Loud horns began blaring as armored ports similar to what launched Unit 01 opened to the early evening. Like a freeze frame movie buildings, true skyscrapers, rose from the ground. They grew and grew until they seemed to touch the sky. At the same time a multitude if other smaller buildings rose, as if inspired by their enormous brethren. It was awe inspiring to witness.

"That, thats amazing!" Shinji cried out, barely able to help himself. Misato's smirk grew ever larger.

"Whenever I start feeling doubtful, I come here. Seeing this never fails to cheer me up. This is our city. The city that you saved. Never forget that" Misato spoke.

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In NERV's infirmary, the coup arrived. Leading the platoon strength force, the seemingly young Japanese man paused. Not out of fear or hesitation, but to confirm the presence of one high value VIP that was listed as 'absolute priory, must be taken alive' and had so far evaded capture. And was walking towards the soldiers, stopping when she finally noticed them.

"Dr. Ritsuko Akagi?" Tribal warned, making sure his rifle was pointed towards the ground. Her mouth moved soundlessly in surprise. A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye set off his instincts, and he whipped the rifle around. The soldiers around him copied his movement a spilt second later. However, one of them apparently had his finger held too tightly on the trigger of his weapon.

***CRACK***

The teenage girl in the hospital gown fell backwards with a hollow point slug between her wide red eyes.

"Oh my god" Dr. Akagi mumbled.

Tossing his rifle away, Tribal rushed to the girl's side. She was dead, that much was obvious, but he still checked her neck for a pulse and found none. Two gloved fingers gingerly closed her open eyes.

"Whoever fired that shot, you better turn that weapon on yourself. Because what I will do to you will be much worse" he growled. As he was standing up another** *CRACK*** echoed throughout the largely empty halls. He turned back to his men, noting the fresh corpse on the floor.

"She's dead" Akagi mumbled, looking wide eyed.

"Unfortunate. Slavic is going to be pissed when he finds out the First child is dead" Tribal muttered. A loud and extra nervous gulp from the scientist drew his gaze towards her.

"What" he stated.

"Um, Its a long story, but, um.." she trailed off.

"I've got time"

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Misato's apartment block didn't look that distinctive, but it didn't look too uniform either. Shinji noted this and more as he carried an arm load of fresh groceries up the stairs, following Misato's lead. Once they reached the correct door, he saw a small stack of boxes beside it. Most of his worldly possessions. She opened the door and walked in, pausing in confusion when she noticed Shinji hesitating.

"Whats wrong?" She asked.

"I, um, don't want to intrude..." He said nervously. She chuckled.

"This is your home too. So please, come on in" she invited.

Shinji sighed nervously. Like the Eva earlier, his foot raised up and came down on the other side of the door frame, stepping into the house proper. With slightly more hesitation, the other foot followed suit. He sighed agin.

"I'm home" he mumbled. Misato smiled warmly.

_Now we're getting somewhere_, she thought happily.

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An hour later and Shinji was starting to regret his decision.

His earlier prediction of her being a ditz was true, but not to the degree that he feared. While actually on the job, Misato held the highest discipline and professionalism. Her skill was unmatched, and her order was unchallenged. But while not at the job, she was a complete and utter slob. It was a strange discrepancy that Shinji was unable to reconcile.

"I just moved in here myself not too long ago" she pointed out.

Tash littered the entire apartment. Empty beer cans waged an aggressive war against fast food wrappers led by the bags they rode on. Plastic simultaneously fought with paper, foid versus garbage, and cans battled every faction at once. Chaos reigned supreme.

"If this not too long ago, I'm scared to see a long time" he said, earning himself an annoyed cuff.

She offered to cook something, an offer he vigorously opposed after sniffing some recent looking food refuse. After some verbal sparing, they settled on fast food. As it happened, there was a number of locations nearby with some good fare, relatively speaking. On his suggestion she ordered some Thai food with a fifteen minute wait.

Shinji spent ten of those minutes preparing the arduous task of cleaning apartment from top to bottom, the mess was simply too large to tackle in one night, and mentally drafting his next letter to Lucy.

_There is no way she is going to believe me_, he thought.

Precisely five minutes before the food was supposed to arrive, Shinji heard the door knocking.

"Shinji! Could you get get that!" Misato called out. After ordering, Misato went into the bathroom for a shower. Shinji sighed and went to answer it. The one standing outside of the door was the last thing he expected.

"Good evening" said the black clad caucasian man, speaking Japanese.

"Um, evening?" Shinji replied nervously.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked, glancing over Shinji's shoulder.

"Well, um" he began.

"Who is it?" Misato asked as she stepped out of the shower, thankfully wearing more than a towel. She hesitated when she saw the black clad man.

"Names Doug Brenner. You and I have some business to discuss" he said to her.

"We're having dinner soon" Shinji said quickly, nervous for no reason he could explain.

"Take out I'm assuming?" He asked, receiving a nod in confirmation, "then I'll gladly pay for it. Please, I insist" he spoke. His hands came up and ruffled the lapels of his knee length overcoat. Shinji received an excellent view of a holstered gun on his chest. Misato saw it too.

"Sure" Misato agreed tensely. The man strolled in and turned back, waving his hand in a c'mon gesture. Shinji was surprised at who followed him.

It was a girl, either Shinji's age or close to it. Her skin was pale, and her shoulder length hair was a deep red. She wore a red blouse with a darker vest and a long green and white striped skirt, and on her head was a long green hat with two portions that led down the back of her neck. It had a glancing resemblance to a jesters hat. She carried herself nervously, holding her hands close and refused to meet anyone's eyes.

The man grunted something, and the girl hesitantly looked towards the two residents.

"Um, hi" she began. Shinji saw that her eyes her a dark red "I'm Kaede. Nice to meet you"

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**A/N: I said I'll try to be quicker, not that I will. For the record, the pen pal helped Shinji be more assertive and confident. He's still the Shinji we all know and despise, just now with an extra layer of resolve, but not necessarily courage. Attentive people who think you figured out who the pal is, have a cookie and be quiet. Thank you for your cooperation and happy new year 2014.**


	4. Settling in

**A/N: The Familiar Fox, thanks for the input, your encouragement was needed and appreciated.**

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After turning over command of the platoon to another officer (not that he needed to command one in the first place, he was just looking for an excuse to get away from the bureaucrats) and making a quick call, Tribal escorted the good doctor to the lower levels of the Geofront. After taking steps to insure the girl would receive a proper burial. One of his personality quirks; he never hesitated with pulling the trigger but he was a stickler for insuring last rites. Half an hour later he discovered he shouldn't have bothered.

"Interesting" Pariah mumbled.

"Okay then. Uh, Rei, you're dismissed. Return to your home" Dr. Akagi hesitantly ordered.

"Yes Doctor" said Rei Ayanami, the individual that Tribal personally inspected and pronounced dead. She dressed herself in one of the innumerable spare school uniforms stored in the room and left via the elevator. Her confusion was well concealed.

Tribal didn't take his eyes off of her until she was gone. Not because of attraction, but out of bewilderment. It wasn't everyday he pronounced someone dead and then they came back to life. His green eyes then turned back to their original focus, surrounding him in an orange tank. The number of times he was struck speechless was tiny, and with a keycard and this large room this woman single handedly accomplished it. Whether or not she realized the difficulty of doing so was irrelevant.

"I shouldn't have shown you this, any of this. You should really le-" she began. Tribal raised one hand in a gesture he'd seen Slavic, Pariah, and the long dead Elbrus do many times. Amazingly, the hand swish that commanded silence worked on her. The present circumstances were likely to blame.

"Start from the beginning, and leave nothing out" he ordered. A quick glance towards Pariah showed he wasn't going anywhere.

"Not a chance. I want to hear this" he confirmed.

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Dinner in the Katsuragi household on the evening after the third Angel's defeat was strained, to say the least.

Shinji ate his food mechanically, not really tasting the takeout in favor of studying the strangers. One saving grace for the situation was that Misato had ordered more than the two of them could eat. A habit of hers was to save a meal or two of takeout for next day's lunch. The current order had enough for all four to have a filling, if not very nutritious meal. Most of it was conducted in silence around her small dinner table, which accommodated both pairs comfortably.

'Doug Brenner', or so he called himself, spoke japanese fluently albeit with an accent that neither Misato or Shinji recognized. The name itself was anglo, likely American, but the man appeared to be eastern european. In Shinji's secretive opinion his ensemble was intimidating, like an updated version of a WW2 SS officer's garb. That was actually the truth.

The girl herself was just as much as a mystery. A japanese name, spoke Honshu style japanese, and had knowledge of japanese customs that no _gaijin_ could match. Yet with her pinkish-red hair and her red eyes, to say nothing of her pale skin, she hardly looked asian. She didn't look like anyone from any ethnic group that either guardian or ward had ever seen. Misato had the sneaking suspicion that there was more to her than what met the eye, and she wasn't wrong.

After finishing his meal, Shinji took Misato's finished carton and stuffed it inside his, depositing the chopsticks in his other hand. Not without trepidation, he offered the same to 'Doug'. The man obliged silently, his eyes boring into his own. Lastly he turned to Kaede.

"I'll take it if you're done" he said.

"Thank you" she replied quietly, handing the mostly full carton over. He noted that apart from a few bites she had hardly touched the food. Getting up from the table, he carefully managed to keep at least an arms length distance from either stranger.

"Doing the dishes?" Misato asked, tone neutral.

"Yeah" he answered, secretly glad for the opportunity to get away.

"Kaede, why don't you give him a hand?" 'Doug' asked innocently. Shinji inwardly cursed his luck. Behind him 'Doug' motioned for Misato to follow him to the couch to talk. She obliged.

After depositing the cartons in the trash, which he estimated was far too small to deal with the sheer size of the mess throughout the apartment, he and Kaede took positions at the sink. By an unspoken agreement Shinji washed and Kaede rinsed then dried them. Another saving grace was the actual amount of dirty dishes was small; Misato usually had either takeout or instant, judging by both the garbage itself and the few plates and bowls by the sink.

"Sorry about the mess, I just moved in today" he apologized. Kaede shrugged.

"I've dealt with worse. By the way I didn't catch your name" she said, mechanically cleaning.

"Shinji Ikari. Yours?" he asked her.

"Kaede Kurama. Nice to meet you" she answered.

"Likewise" he replied.

They worked in silence for a time, methodically burning through the relatively small pile of plates and bowls and the much larger pile of spoons, forks, and chopsticks. Either one working alone would've taken a while to finish, but together they managed to clean a month's worth of dirty dishes in just fifteen minutes. All the while Shinji heard whispers of Misato and the stranger talking, but he couldn't make out what was being said.

"So, where are you from?" Shinji asked casually as they finished.

"Well... its complicated" Kaede began, sounding uncertain.

"Isn't it always?" Shinji asked her rhetorically. She chuckled mirthfully.

"That it is" she said, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

A sound behind them drew Shinji's attention. Looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, he beheld the strange sight of what appeared to be a _penguin_, wearing a collar, exiting one of the freezers, sauntering over to grab a copy of the daily newspaper and a can of Misato's beer, and sauntering back, but not before pausing and giving both teens an appraising and not altogether approving glance before re-entering the freezer, slamming the door shut behind it.

Shinji turned and saw the dumbfounded expression of Kaede.

"That was... weird" she stuttered.

While the teens washed, a tense conversation was taking place.

"So, who are you" Misato asked, putting on her rare tone that emphasized 'all business'. To those who knew her well, this indicated that she was at her most dangerous. The fact that he was within arm's reach of her did not help his situation at all.

"My alias is Doug Brenner, but my designation is Slavic" he replied calmly, unfazed by her hostility.

"Original, but it doesn't answer my question" she stated, not very patiently. Unlike Shinji, she didn't question the name, simply filing it under 'things to ask later'.

"I am a high ranking member of a secret society known as Avalon" he answered, fully aware of the danger and not reacting to it.

"Never heard of it" Misato said quietly.

"Thats the point. The organization dates back to well over three thousand years ago to ancient Mesopotamia, though the current chapter only dates back to 1910. Throughout that time the primary objective was transparency. We've gathered power and wealth, but we stayed off the radar as much as possible. In the past thousand years, we've interfered in the world at large only four times. The last was the cuban missile crisis" he explained.

Misato's surprise was well disguised, but an important question was immediately raised.

"Why now?" she asked.

"Avalon intervenes only when the world at large is threatened. The threat the Angels pose is far greater than anyone realizes" he continued.

"A repeat of Second Impact" she said nervously.

"Precisely. I have no doubts when it comes to your abilities, nor to the capabilities of the men and women at NERV. But the risk is simply too high" he explained.

"So, you built an Eva, just to help us?" she asked hesitantly.

"That and taking control of of the first branch" he added. Mistao was far more intelligent than any would give her credit, but it took her a moment to process Slavic's sentence.

"Huh?" she mumbled in disbelief.

"Earlier today a number of my comrades led an invasion force into the Geo-front. By tonight, it and by extension Tokyo-3 will be under Avalon's direct control. From today onward the Angel war will be administered and directed by my organization" he said.

"You just said-" she began.

"I have no doubts when it comes to you. To your superiors, my confidence is... diminished" he explained.

Her eyes narrowed.

"What do you want from me" she said slowly.

"From you I want only two things. First, you perform your job as you would before. On paper you and most of the personnel at NERV are now employed by Avalon. In practice, the only real difference is you will be answering to me instead of Commander Ikari" he finished. Misato blinked. That was unexpected.

"Thats it?" She asked, unsure.

"Thats it. No more, no less" he answered.

He paused to observe the teens finishing their task and coming towards them. Shinji looked curious, but Kaede was beginning to look upset.

"Well, I wasn't being entirely truthful. There is one more thing I'd like you to do" Slavic admitted. He made a barely perceptible nod in Shinji's direction.

Misato looked at Shinji. Then she looked at Kaede. Then Shinji again, then Kaede once more as realization dawned. Her eyes locked on Slavic with a mixture of hopelessness and anger.

"You're pushing Kaede off on me" she stated flatly. Shinji looked at her with surprise.

"To be accurate, no. Yesterday I bribed your neighbors to leave. She'll be moving in next door. You'll be responsible for her well being, food and school and whatnot. But she'll have her own apartment, and she knows how to take care of herself on day-to-day matters. In addition" he paused and pulled out an envelop from the inner pocket of his coat and handed it to her "in this is several thousand yen, yours to do with as you please. More will come when you need it" he explained offhandedly.

"But-" she began, but a hand swish from Slavic cut her off.

"And I can personally guarantee that I will be checking in. Often and personally. Thank you for the meal and good night" he finished.

As he walked out the door without a backwards glance, Shinji's eyes followed him and saw what he should've noticed when they came in; a brown travelers bag set aside, not quite out of sight. Once he was gone, Kaede let out a tired sigh.

"Did he tell you what he was doing?" Shinji asked her carefully.

"Yes" was her response. She didn't sound scared; if anything, resigned.

"Well, I guess tonight you can sleep in that bedroom. If you need to shower or something feel free" Misato pointed to the hallway.

"Okay" she said tiredly.

"And Shinji?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"You're crashing on the couch tonight. Tomorrow I'll get the room emptied" she said apologetically.

"Alright" he said wearily, the day's events catching up with him.

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"Wow, this guy is loaded" the First exclaimed. She riled through the top secret documents and sensitive information inside Gendo Ikari's desk with the glee that a young child would give to a candy shop. Her comrade and subordinate felt her patience drain away at an increasing rate.

"Alright enough! Just what in god's name is he planning!?" Widow shouted. In the cavernous office that many of NERV's employees nicknamed 'the mausoleum' (in hush whispers of course) the sound boomed and echoed.

"Fine fine. Here" the First handed over a paper gruffly. Widow snatched it out of her hands and quickly read through it, or tried to.

"What does this damn thing say?" she demanded.

_This is going to be one of those nights_, the First thought glumly. Gendo silently thought the same within the bounds of his mind, his free will gone. For now.

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On the other side of the city, an event of unparalleled magnitude was taking place.

In a run down apartment in a run down building in a seedy part of the city, there lived one of the most important individuals in Tokyo-3, if not the world. An outside observer (like the Avalon army starting to camp in the Geo-front) would find it odd that a city that was built with one goal in mind and was 'completed' (insofar as a city could be) just five years prior could have not only a 'poor' area, but could have condemned buildings already becoming eyesores to residents. The important person was experiencing a dilemma a layman dealt with daily.

She stood over her sink in her trash strewn apartment, the subject of her hesitation was in her palm, in the form of a pill. It's bottle sat on the counter beside the sink. She had been standing there, unmoving except for a slight motion from her chest, staring at the pill she nearly swallowed. Born of a lifetime of habit that she no longer had.

For the first time in her entire life, Rei was hesitating.

"May cause reduced motor control" she murmured softly, the sound not reaching past her ears.

Rei wasn't stupid. She could read just fine, and that included the prescription bottle that held the drugs she'd taken for ten years. Never before however had she felt the urge to actually _Look_ at the thing, instead of just taking them. When she did at last, out of a glimmer of long repressed curiosity, the phrase "reduced motor control" stood out. Her reflexes were going to suffer if she took it, and now that the Angels had returned...

"Might be slow during a battle. Might get someone hurt. Maybe me. Maybe someone else" she murmured to herself.

Her entire purpose, half of it anyway, was to pilot. To protect Tokyo-3 and it's inhabitants from the monsters that were hellbent on humanity's destruction. If she failed to do that... she would end. Her thought process' simply couldn't think past that. Every outcome that came up with 'FAILURE' simply ended. She just couldn't think past that. Failure was unacceptable.

Unacceptable.

Her palm flipped and the little pill that had been enslaving her fell down the drain and into oblivion.

She blocked out the impact of her actions. She didn't think of the possible negative repercussions. She didn't think of the action as bad at all. Or so she tried to tell herself as she laid down on her thin bed. Unwittingly she engaged herself in a process of justifying her actions to ease her guilt. In minutes a mantra was born.

"No one will get hurt. No one will get hurt. No one..." Rei repeated until she fell asleep. She had no idea how that little act would change history.

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The next three weeks passed by in a blur.

So much happened in just the first week, it didn't seem real. First was the revelation that Kaede was the pilot of the winged Eva. He half suspected she was the pilot, but it was still a shock to hear her admit it. Slavic confirming the fact a moment later only increased it. Strangely, afterwards nothing changed; she was gone almost as long as he was, and when they were at the apartment together she usually lent a hand cleaning. They still chatted, they still got along, they still agreed that Misato was a slob. Nothing changed. Including her habit of wearing a hat 24/7. Shinji never saw her without one on.

Slavic kept his word, visiting at least once every two days. The first time he did Shinji heard him a mile away. He roared into the parking lot driving a bright orange and loud exotic car. He stayed for an hour, checking in on everyone and bringing some reasonably good fast food and some tea before leaving as abruptly as he arrived. For the entire time Misato was almost drooling and staring at his car. When he asked her what was so special about it she glared at him with undisguised contempt at his ignorance.

"That was a 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS! They haven't made a single one of those things in thirty years! Ad its in such good condition..." She trailed off with a line of drool hanging out of the corner of her mouth. Shinji made it a point to keep a safe distance from her whenever Slavic was driving his car.

Training was split between synchronization tests and combat practice, the former outnumbering the latter. Before the first test he was fitted for a skintight outfit they called a plug suit. His was mostly dark blue and had the upper torso and shoulders colored a dull white. In addition, a '01' was stitched onto the solar plexus. The white portions were bulky, being inlaid with a variety of machines thats' purpose was to keep him breathing. The rest of it left little to the imagination, much to his chagrin.

Practice was relatively simple: shooting a mock weapon at a mock Third Angel (ignoring the fact that Kaede killed it) with a mocking level of difficulty. When he suggested some way of altering the sim, giving him more experience than just aiming straight, Dr. Akagi (never Ritsuko, that was for Misato only) brushed him off but soon added more features like a moving target.

Sync tests on the other hand were ambiguous at best, and frustrating at worst. Shinji had no idea what he was doing, and the only advice Dr. Akagi offered was to 'concentrate on the Eva'. He tried, and something happened. One of the bridge lieutenants, a friendly woman named Maya Ibuki, helped him with testing. Hearing her list a percentage of his score did wonders for his confidence, and having a friendly voice to aid him helped enormously. To his great surprise his score from the first time he piloted was at forty percent, a feat that the Second Child in Germany, NERV's most successful pilot, had achieved only a year prior.

Four days in, he met the First Child.

After another sync test, Shinji made his way to the locker room to shower. He was still focused on the results of the test, most of which was gibberish to him but was fascinating to Ibuki and Akagi for reasons he'd probably never discover. He showered and changed, thoughts focused on the shopping list he made earlier and what he was going to make for dinner, only discovering that he wasn't alone after he put on his pants.

"Hello" a speaker greeted from behind him.

"Waah!" Shinji screeched in surprise, jumping a foot of the floor and spinning around. Unfortunately, when he landed the damp floor provided little in the way of friction. His lack of socks compounded the problem, and he slipped. From an outside perspective it was 'friggin hilarious' as Misato might have expressed it, seeing his flailing arms and his shocked and dumbfounded expression as fell backwards. Whatever humor would disappear quickly if his head impacted the hard floor. Which was prevented by a powerful grip latching onto his arm.

He still landed hard, but the powerful yank from the grip prevented his head from becoming too intimate with the floor, though his back wasn't so lucky. Pain raced up from his rear and his back landed with a wet thud. The arm released a few seconds later, and the back of his scalp tapped instead of smacking the floor. Shinji opened his scrunched up eyes to thank whoever saved him, but was instead struck speechless. Not by the fact that it was a girl, nor because she was rather beautiful, though both of those factors contributed.

He was silenced by her blue hair.

"Are you hurt?" she asked in an unexpected and eerie deadpan. The memory of a blue haired phantom standing in the street came back to Shinji with a rush.

"Uhh" he trailed off.

"I am assuming you are well" she spoke in the deadpan. She stood back up from her lean and turned to walk away.

"W-wait!" Shinji cried out. His arm plaintively came up, reaching for her. The girl paused and looked back.

Shinji finally had a chance to see her in detail. A brief glance admitted she was beautiful, and thoughtful observation confirmed it. She looked to be his age, fourteen or close to it. Her skin was alabaster in color, a few shades paler than Kaede. Her eyes were similar as well, a blood red rather than a rosy tint. She wore a green and white school uniform, complete with a red bow. And her hair was indeed a aqua blue.

"Yes?" she questioned. There was no malice, no cheer, no tone other than the pronunciation that indicated a question. Machine like came to his mind.

"Um, uh, who are you?" Shinji asked tentatively.

"Rei Ayanami. And you are Shinji Ikari" she answered dully.

"Um, yeah. If you dont mind me asking, what are you doing in here?" he hesitantly asked.

"I was changing my clothes from my sync test" she answered. Shinji's eye widened.

"You're a pilot? Wait, you were in here already? How long?" he rambled.

_Real smooth jackass_, he thought scathingly.

"Yes. And yes, I was. You did not notice me. You appeared to be deep in thought" she answered dryly.

"Um, right" Shinji replied embarrassedly.

"Goodbye" she spoke briefly. She turned and left. Shinji didn't see it, but her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer than she normally would have.

Shinji sat on the cold and wet floor for a full minute, utterly stunned at the encounter.

It eventually dawned on him that he was half naked and he quickly dressed, a light blush on his cheeks. When he left the locker room Ibuki was waiting for him.

"Hey Shinji, just wanted to see you for a sec. I got your sync results" she said causally.

"Thanks. Um, did you see a girl walk out of the locker room a minute or two ago?" he asked hesitantly, pointing his thumb back for emphasis. She nodded.

"Yep, that was Rei. Rei Ayanami, she's the First child. Up until you came along she was the only pilot here" she told him.

"Really?"Shinji asked.

"Yeah. I take it you two met in there?" she asked with a sly wink. Shinji's cheeks went red and she giggled.

"Its okay. Fact is, Rei is a bit weird at first, but once you get to know her shes great" Ibuki said.

"I see" he said hesitantly.

"How is she? Last I saw her she was in rough shape" she asked.

"Um, fine I think. What do you mean?" He asked her.

"About a month ago we tried to activate Unit 00, her Eva by the way, and something went wrong. The thing went berserk and she was hurt pretty bad" she explained. Shinji did a bit of math and came to a negative conclusion.

"It went wrong and she was hurt. So he called me here" he said sullenly, more to himself than to her.

"He? You mean the Commander?" Ibuki asked, confused.

Though everything seemed normal, Shinji couldn't help but feel that something was wrong at NERV. The various technicians and assorted personnel talked and worked calmly, but he could sense an undercurrent of fear in their actions. It was subtle, but it was definitely there. The uniformed people always quieted down whenever they were near a security guard, all of which wore a distinctive black uniform that resembled a soldier's outfit. It was a marked contrast to the beige most of the personnel wore.

The guards always looked tense, as if they were expecting trouble to appear any moment. What drew his attention initially was their ethnicity, or lack thereof. He saw a few japanese among them, along with chinese, europeans (of several types), indians, and even a few africans. No factor united them apart from their uniforms, and their attitudes. The guards all spoke japanese, but they spoke it with the definite marks of recent learning.

He couldn't help but think that they were somehow related to Slavic.

Misato had outlined NERV in broad terms the day after Kaede moved in. An international company under the direct control of the UN security council, the eight most powerful people on Earth. They had a presence in dozens of countries, though actual facilities like in Tokyo-3 were in only five so far: Japan, Germany, America, Russia, and China. Shinji wasn't sure how someone could take control of a group like that, but the possibilities alone frightened him.

He was torn on what he was going to tell Lucy; so much of what he'd seen and experienced was highly classified at every level, from local to international. He decided on broad strokes, not listing anything specific and incriminating. Her responses reflected her annoyance at the intentional vagueness, but she accepted the limits. In three weeks he penned and sent seven letters and received six back.

At the end of the first week, his life changed for the worst.

"Hey Shinji!" Misato called out from her couch. He paused from his sweeping to listen. Kaede stopped as well, a basket of laundry (hers, Shinji's, and Misatos) in hand. A early agreement gave him the lions share of chores, while Kaede claimed all laundry duties.

"I almost forgot, you've been enrolled in the local school" she reported. Shinji slumped.

"Can I get home-schooled?" he asked, half hopeful.

"I'm not here enough, so no" she said, dashing his hopes. He sighed in resignation.

"And Kaede?" She calked out. Kaede looked to her, already dreading what she was going to say.

"Slav told me to tell you that you've been enrolled too. Both of you start tonorrow" she reported. Both teens shuddered in dread.

In three weeks he hadn't seen his father at all.

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"Ready to go?" Shinji asked.

"No" Kaede sighed. With the newly traditional piece spoken, the two departed.

His first day of school was the opposite of what he expected: completly and utterly normal. He listened to the gossip and the rumors, and he was struck at their complete ignorance. They talked about the battle, about the state of emergency, about the false news, and he couldn't believe that just a month ago he swallowed the very same information and called it truth. It tore at him just how oblivious they were.

Kaede was having an even worse time. Shinji became acutely aware on the first day at how much she stood out compared to everyone else. A single rose red capped by a dark blue surrounded in a sea of black and brown. For whatever reason she continued to wear a hat, despite it being against the dress code. In the hallways she refused to acknowledge him, or even speak. They shared the same class, but she always sat near the back, well out of sight. She never spoke up in class, in fact she never spoke at all.

He walked on, only half focused on his surroundings. Kaede followed a few steps behind him, eye downcast and radiating melancholy. Were he more outgoing, Shinji might have been affected. He was hardly aware that he fell into step with another student on the same path who was typing something into his cell phone. Neither spoke, for neither was really aware the other was even there. It wasn't the first time they had done this, but it would be the last.

Once Shinji was inside the school building and close to class 2-A, he did the same thing he normally did. Avoiding a girl who broke out in a run and leaped to tackle and/or hug another girl who was presumably her friend.

"Ryuko!" the girl bellowed happily. The same thing happened every day. The other girl, who had a single red highlighted bang, sidestepped the airborne girl and looked annoyed as she landed with a thud. The leaping girl inevitably got back up, pouting but otherwise unharmed.

Entering class 2-A, Shinji noticed something was off. The class representative, a girl with pig tails and a no nonsense attitude, was in the process of accosting one of the students. The victim, a jock like kid wearing a track suit, was trying to defend himself to no avail. Meanwhile a nerdy looking kid with glasses and messy hair recorded the encounter on a handheld video camera.

"Its not my fault!" he pleaded. The girl squared her shoulders and glared menacingly at him.

"Oh really. Not completing that printout I gave you wasn't your fault." she said, dripping with sarcasm.

"Really! Sakura was hurt in the giant robot battle" he spoke sincerely.

"No she wasn't" Glasses countered. The girl's glare intensified.

Kaede made a beeline to the back of the room. Fortunately for her sake the class rep was occupied; otherwise the issue of her hat would've come up. Shinji took his usual seat near the front of the class. But before he sat down he spied Rei sitting by the window, gazing out of it and ignoring everyone and everything else. He wanted to talk to her, but there was nothing that could be discussed in public.

Most of the desks were empty; he, Kaede, Rei, and the arguing trio were the only ones in the room. After seeing the carnage that an Angel could dish out firsthand, Shinji couldn't blame anyone for running. If he was in their place, he would've been gone by day one.

"Hey, notice anything different?" Glasses said, changing the subject and saving the jock from the class rep's wrath.

"What?" the class rep asked.

"There's not one but two transfer students in one month. And both soon after the giant robot battle" he pointed out. Cold fear knotted in Shinji's stomach.

"Yeah, you're right" Jock agreed, happy to draw attention away from himself.

"But I thought there was only one Eva. Thats what you told me anyway" the class rep wondered.

"Well, I don't know much for sure, but from what the military intelligence says-" he began.

"I don't know how you got something like that, and you better not tell me. I don't wanna be arrested in the middle of the night" Jock commanded. The class rep nodded in agreement.

"Well, apparently NERV sent over another Eva, and they forgot to tell the people here. They didn't find out until it joined the fight" Glasses recited. Jock snorted derisively.

"And these are the people charged with protecting us" he mocked.

Whatever else he was saying was drowned out by a gaggle of students quickly rushing into the classroom, including the two girls from earlier, arriving just ahead of the teacher. The class rep left her apparent friends behind and made her way to the front of the class.

"Stand! Bow! Sit!" She ordered, and the thirty odd students obeyed without protest. Somewhere an army drill sergeant was made proud.

For the next several hours Shinji listened to the old man drone on and on and on about the terrible event known as Second Impact. Whatever weight the tragedy had was quickly erased in the face of the unconquerable bane of all sentient life: boredom. At thirty minutes he felt his eyelids becoming heavy; at an hour he was beginning to nod off to the promised land of sleep. Only a quick smack on the desk by the class rep prevented that. And any other overt attempts at two hours in, he made a discovery that two weeks of school didn't show.

Most schools in Japan tried to be as high tech as possible; the country did have a reputation to defend after all. Few however matched the sophistication present at Tokyo-3's public school. This was done by the simple fact of having far more money to lavish on the student body. Every student desk had a simple labtop hooked up to a unified network. While their purpose was for research, they could and often did make excellent private messengers.

A tiny beep drew Shinji's attention downwards.

[**Are you the pilot of the giant robot? Y/N**] the text read. He glanced around and saw the culprits; two snickering girls leaning over a desk. They saw him and giggled, then one leaned over and typed something. Sure enough, a few seconds later a new message popped up.

[**The purple one or the green one**?] It read. Shinji was presented with a very unique conundrum. Agree, and likely be arrested for spilling international secrets and thrown in prison forever. But most people already seemed to know about NERV and Evas, and it could boost his popularity to unimaginable heights-

[**Neither. I'm not a pilot**] he replied. A simple lie. Seeing the two very cute girls deflate in front of him took away much of his reasoning, but he stuck to his decision. Or tried to. When he glanced up he saw a small crowd surrounding him, looking disappointed, he shrugged nonchalantly. It seemed to do the trick, and the crowd dispersed.

_Did Kaede get a message like this_? he thought. In fact she did, but she didn't reply to it.

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Lunch was a simple affair, unlike everything else. In the morning Shinji made a quick meal for himself, Kaede, and Misato. He left the latter's meal in the fridge, pantingly ignoring the penguin that was reading the newspaper, and gave the other her food before they left. Wherever she decided to eat was a mystery, like everything else about her. He decided to eat his on the front lawn. For the time being he focused on his food, or tried to. A right hook to the mouth has a tendency to complicate matters.

"Sorry newcomer. Had to do that. You needed to know the pecking order around here" Jock explained. Shinji gritted his teeth and held onto his bruising jaw, the kicked up dirt around him already settling.

Glasees leaned in close and whispered in a conspiring whisper:

"Thats just his excuse. Don't feel bad, he does it to everyone"

"Gee thanks" Shinji grunted. Glasses offered an hand and he gladly accepted. Despite looking like a textbook definition of a nerd, he had a surprisingly strong grip. He yanked Shinji up with a light grunt.

"Kensuke Aida, at your service. Thats Touji Suzahara" he greeted.

"Shinji Ikari" he replied, putting a questioning glance towards his now named attacker.

"Just what I said. To be honest I have to thank you. That monster was stomping around all over. One foot broke the shelter my little sister was in. If you hadn't got there..." Touji explained.

"Am I missing something?" an all too familiar voice questioned. All three boys looked to the speaker, only one recognizing who it was.

"Nah, you're not missing anything" Shinji told her. Kaede sighed in quiet exasperation.

"I let you out of my sight for one minute" she mumbled.

Before she could rant further, she looked up with a look of troubled expectation. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a buzzing cell phone, quickly putting it to her ear. Her look morphed into hard resolve. A quick look at her eyes told Shinji all he needed to know.

He spun around and almost ran into the waiting form of the First child.

"Emergency. I'll report in first" she said quickly. She spun around herself and broke out in a sprint. Kaede ran after her, and Shinji followed them a heartbeat later. The two boys were left scratching their heads at what just happened before the dreaded alarm began to blare.

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**A/N: SevenandForty has joined the ranks of the legion that serves me, Muhahahaha! Just kidding, thank you for following this story man. And I want honest critiquing; not just "good chapter" or "Wow u Suk Harharhar". I want to improve my writing, and I am fully aware that everything is in past tense and I overuse 'with'. But admittingly the positive stuff is a huge stroke to my childish ego.**


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